A Brief Introduction into Noam Chomsky Language Theory

Introduction to Noam Chomsky's Theory

Noam Chomsky is an American linguist and philosopher, recognized as a founder of the field of cognitive science. He has proposed a nature theory suggesting that children are prewired for the development of language, and the environment in which they live triggers its emergence. According to Chomsky, children are able to learn language through an innate biological ability. Language is innate and evolves with minimal instruction. For instance, many theorists believe that social language skills are developed by observing and listening to their parents or other people in the environment (Chomsky, 1957).

The Role of Socialization in Language Development

From the perspective of language development and socialization, interaction is necessary not only with adults but also with other children. Between the ages of three and five years, children experience significant linguistic development, their vocabulary expands considerably, and their sentences become more complex. In preschool, children have numerous opportunities for discussions, answering teachers' questions during activities, singing songs, reading books, or learning rhymes. Preschool teachers can further aid language development by not dominating conversations, introducing new words, and asking questions that require thoughtful answers. The child's cognitive abilities are enhanced when they engage in activities that involve asking questions and solving problems (Lightbown & Spada, 2013).

Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device

Chomsky posited that we are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that must be stimulated initially to begin learning language. It is not necessary for adults or teachers to correct mistakes constantly; the child will self-correct over time. Language acquisition is not solely a cognitive process, so the role of the adult as a leader of learning is considerably limited. As children grow older, after the age of 12, the effectiveness of the LAD starts to diminish, and achieving fluency becomes practically impossible. A compelling example supporting Chomsky’s theory is the case of Genie, a girl who was isolated for 13 years without communication. Despite undergoing numerous therapies, she failed to fully develop and master language (Curtiss, 1977).

Conclusion: Nature and Grammar

Chomsky’s theory affirms that children learn from their natural environment. His theory also suggests that grammar is embedded in our brains from birth, indicating that children learn not only words but also grammar, irrespective of the language spoken. This inherent capability underscores the universality of linguistic structures across diverse languages (Pinker, 1994).

References

Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton.

Curtiss, S. (1977). Genie: A Psycholinguistic Study of a Modern-Day "Wild Child". Academic Press.

Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2013). How Languages are Learned (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Pinker, S. (1994). The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. William Morrow and Company.